According to Russian officials and media reports, the 64-year-old deputy chief of the GRU (Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces) was ambushed in the stairwell of his apartment complex on Volokolamsk Highway. The attacker reportedly waited for Alekseyev to leave his residence on the 24th floor around 7:00 a.m. before shooting him in the back as he descended the stairs.
The assailant fled the scene immediately after the attack and remains at large. Witnesses described hearing multiple gunshots followed by cries for help. One neighbour told local media: “The entire floor is covered in blood, even the lift lobby.”
Alekseyev suffered severe blood loss by the time emergency services arrived. Paramedics performed CPR on the general for approximately 15 minutes before transporting him to a Moscow hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal investigation into the incident, classifying it as attempted murder and illegal circulation of firearms. Svetlana Petrenko, spokesperson for the committee, confirmed that “the victim has been hospitalised at one of the city’s hospitals.”
Profile of Lt Gen Vladimir Alekseyev
- Age: 64
- Position: Deputy Head of the GRU (Russian military intelligence) and Deputy Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Ministry of Defence
- Sanctions: Placed under European Union sanctions following accusations that the GRU was responsible for the 2018 Salisbury Novichok nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter
Role in Recent Events:
- Provided key intelligence assessments to the Kremlin ahead of the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine
- Acted as a central negotiator during the June 2023 mutiny led by Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin
- The shooting occurred less than 24 hours after GRU chief Admiral Igor Kostyukov led the Russian delegation in high-level security talks involving Ukraine and the United States.
Context of Attacks on Russian Military Figures
The incident is the latest in a series of targeted attacks and alleged assassinations against senior Russian military officers in recent years:
December 2024: Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed when an explosive device hidden in an electric scooter detonated near his home in Moscow
2025: Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik of the Russian Army’s General Staff died after a car bomb exploded near his residence in the capital
Ukrainian authorities have claimed responsibility for some of these operations as part of efforts to disrupt Russian military command structures, though Kyiv has not commented on the Alekseyev shooting at the time of reporting.
The attack has heightened security concerns around senior Russian defence officials and raised questions about vulnerabilities in their personal protection arrangements, particularly within Moscow itself. Russian authorities have yet to disclose any details about potential suspects, motives, or leads in the ongoing investigation.
Alekseyev’s condition remains critical, and further updates on his health and the progress of the investigation are awaited.
